U.S. Online Gambling Tax Amendment Withdrawn

In the United States on Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee adopted seven amendments proposed by Senator Ron Wyden to the America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, excluding an amendment that would have allocated online gambling tax revenues to help fund the program.

Less than a week has passed since Senator Wyden proposed the amendment, which would have diverted tax revenues to fund healthcare from Rep. Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act.

In a statement to The Hill, Jennifer Hoelzer, Communications Director for Senator Wyden, said the online gambling amendment had been withdrawn because the Senator did not want to introduce another controversial issue to the healthcare debate.

"The last thing Sen. Wyden wants to do is make it more difficult to expand subsidies for working families by introducing a new contentious issue to the debate," said Hoelzer.

The proposed amendment had been welcomed by those within the online gaming industry and by a number of U.S. lawmakers including Rep. Barney Frank and Jim McDermott, both of whom have proposed legislation that would regulate and tax the industry.